Jürgen Blin (24 April 1943 – 7 May 2022) was a mid-20th century German

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

, who was the Heavyweight Champion of Germany, and European Heavyweight Champion in 1972, and internationally represented the state of

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

Early life

Blin was born on the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

island of

Fehmarn Fehmarn (; ; from Old Wagrian Slavic languages, Slavic "''Fe More''", meaning "''In the Sea''") is an island in the Baltic Sea, off the eastern coast of Germany's northernmost state of Schleswig-Holstein. It is Germany's third-largest island, afte ...

on 24 April 1943 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and was a native of the North German city of

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

. While living in Hamburg he was a butcher before his boxing career.

Boxing career

Blin's record in the ring was 30–12–6 with eight knockouts.Jurgen Blin record
at boxrec.com He was greatly admired by German boxing fans for his toughness and stamina in the ring. He was briefly Heavyweight Champion of (West) Germany after defeating Gerhard Zech for the title (he had two draws with him previously). His first professional bout came against Klaus Krüger in October 1964. Blin won this bout, as well as the next five bouts against domestic opponents, and lost his first professional bout in June 1965 to Ray Patterson in

Jordal Amfi Jordal Amfi was an indoor ice hockey rink in Oslo, Norway, the first bearing that name. The venue opened in 1951 to host the 1952 Winter Olympics. Jordal was also the site of the 1958 and the 1999 IIHF World Championship. It would in the follow ...

. Blin lost a decision to

Joe Bugner József Kreul Bugner (born 13 March 1950) is a Hungarian born British– Australian former professional boxer who competed in the heavyweight division and actor. He holds triple nationality, originally being a citizen of Hungary and a nat ...

in May 1971 when fighting for the European Heavyweight title. Blin later won the title in June 1972, his greatest triumph in the ring, when he beat Jose Urtain (who had beaten Blin for the same title in June 1970). However, in October 1972, Blin once again faced Bugner who regained the title by knocking the German out in the eighth round. On 26 December 1971, he fought the American boxer

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...

at Hallenstadion Arena, in

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

, Switzerland, Blin being knocked out 2 minutes and 12 seconds into the seventh round.

Later years

Blin was co-author with

Stephen Brunt Stephen Brunt (born March 20, 1959) is a Canadian sports journalist, well known as a former columnist for '' Sportsnet.ca'', ''Sportsnet'', and former co-host on podcasts for Sportsnet. Journalist Born in Hamilton, Ontario, Brunt started at ''Th ...

of a chapter in a book titled '' ''Facing Ali'''' (2002), about his 1971 contest with the United States champion boxer. He died of kidney failure at a hospital in Hamburg on 6 May 2022, aged 79.

Professional boxing record

, - , align="center" colspan=8, 30 Wins (8 knockouts, 22 decisions), 12 Losses (4 knockouts, 8 decisions), 6 Draws , - , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Result , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Record , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Opponent , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Type , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Round , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Date , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Location , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Notes , -align=center , Loss , , align=left,

Ron Lyle Ronald David Lyle (February 12, 1941 – November 26, 2011) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1971 to 1980, and in 1995. He challenged unsuccessfully for the world heavyweight championship, losing to Muhammad Ali in 1975. Kno ...

, TKO , 2 , 4 October 1973 , align=left,

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

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Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...

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Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

Kensington, London Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensing ...

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Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

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Hallenstadion The Hallenstadion (, ''Zürich Indoor Stadium'') is a multi-purpose facility in the Oerlikon quarter of northern Zürich. It has a capacity of 11,200 spectators. Designed by Bruno Giacometti, it opened on November 4, 1939, and was renovated in ...

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Manuel "Pulgarcito" Ramos Manuel Ramos (November 20, 1942 – June 6, 1999), nicknamed Pulgarcito (Tom Thumb), was a Mexican boxer and actor. He was the heavyweight champion of Mexico, a top world title contender in the late 1960s, and one of Mexico's most international ...

, PTS , 10 , 2 April 1971 , align=left,

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Roberto Davila , PTS , 10 , 26 February 1971 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Vasco Faustino , PTS , 8 , 5 February 1971 , align=left,

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Charley Polite , PTS , 10 , 2 January 1971 , align=left,

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Sylvester Dullaire , KO , 8 , 17 November 1970 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Billy Joiner , PTS , 10 , 9 October 1970 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Loss , , align=left, Jose Manuel Urtain , PTS , 15 , 22 June 1970 , align=left,

Barcelona, Catalonia Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a pop ...

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Ray Patterson , PTS , 10 , 13 February 1970 , align=left,

Ernst-Merck-Halle Ernst-Merck-Halle was a 5,600-capacity indoor arena located in Hamburg, Germany, that was opened in 1950 and demolished in 1986. It was named after German businessman and politician Ernst Merck. Artists that appeared at the hall include The Beatles, ...

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Wilhelm Von Homburg Norbert Grupe (August 25, 1940 – March 10, 2004), better known outside Germany by his stage name Wilhelm von Homburg, was a German boxer, actor, and professional wrestler known for his villainous supporting roles in various high-profile films ...

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, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, David E. Bailey , PTS , 10 , 12 September 1969 , align=left,

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Giulio Rinaldi Giulio Rinaldi (13 February 1935 – 16 July 2011) was an Italian boxer. He competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics where he was eliminated in the first bout. Pro career During his thirteen and-a-half-year professional career from 1957 to 1970 ...

, PTS , 10 , 29 May 1969 , align=left,

Grugahalle The Grugahalle is a multi-purpose indoor arena located at the edge of the Botanischer Garten Grugapark in Essen, Germany. Opened on 25 October 1958, its seating capacity is about 7,700 people and about 10,000 for unseated events. The building was ...

Essen Essen () is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dortmund, as well as ...

, align=left, , - , Draw , , align=left, Macan Keita , PTS , 8 , 29 November 1968 , align=left,

Festhalle Frankfurt Festhalle Frankfurt, known in English as Frankfurt Festival Arena, is a multi-purpose arena located in Frankfurt, Germany. The interior of the dome at its highest reaches a height of 40 meters. It provides an area of 5,646 square metres, offering ...

, align=left, , - , Loss , , align=left, Peter Weiland , PTS , 10 , 1 November 1968 , align=left,

Ostseehalle The Wunderino-Arena (formerly known as Ostseehalle) is an indoor arena, in Kiel, Germany. It is primarily used by THW Kiel (team handball) and as a venue for rock/pop concerts. It holds up to 13,500 people. History Construction was determined i ...

, align=left, , - , Loss , , align=left, Piero Tomasoni , DQ , 2 , 29 September 1968 , align=left,

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Gerhard Zech , PTS , 12 , 11 May 1968 , align=left,

Deutschlandhalle Deutschlandhalle was an arena located in the Westend (Berlin), Westend neighbourhood of Berlin, Germany. It was inaugurated on 29 November 1935 by Adolf Hitler. The building was granted landmark status in 1995, but was demolished on 3 December 20 ...

Charlottenburg Charlottenburg () is a Boroughs and localities of Berlin, locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Established as a German town law, town in 1705 and named after Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, Queen consort of Kingdom ...

West Berlin West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Lloyd Walford , PTS , 8 , 8 March 1968 , align=left, Sporthalle,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Renato Moraes , PTS , 10 , 17 February 1968 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left,

Giuseppe Ros Giuseppe "Bepi" Ros (22 September 1942 – 17 February 2022) was an Italian professional boxer. After winning a bronze medal at the 1964 Olympics he turned professional, and spent most of career fighting in Italy. He retired in 1976. Ros died ...

, PTS , 8 , 15 December 1967 , align=left, Sporthalle,

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, align=left, , - , Draw , , align=left, Jose Menno , PTS , 8 , 8 September 1967 , align=left, Sporthalle,

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, align=left, , - , Draw , , align=left, Gerhard Zech , PTS , 12 , 18 November 1966 , align=left, Sporthalle,

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Giulio Saraudi Giulio Saraudi (3 July 1938 – 20 April 2005) was an Italian boxer. An Olympic bronze medalist, he held 49 titles and a line of 45 bouts, whom he won 37.Palazzetto dello Sport The Palazzetto dello Sport (literally "Small Sport Palace"), also less commonly known as the PalaTizianoLazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

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Mungersdorfer Stadion RheinEnergieStadion, formerly Müngersdorfer Stadion () or Müngersdorfer Stadium, is a German football stadium in Cologne. It was built on the site of the two previous Müngersdorfer stadiums. It is the home of the local 2. Bundesliga team, 1 ...

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Ossi Buettner , KO , 8 , 15 June 1966 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Roland Graetz , PTS , 6 , 14 May 1966 , align=left,

Westfalenhallen Westfalenhallen is a conference venue (Kongresszentrum Dortmund) and exhibition center (Messe Dortmund) with an indoor arena (Westfalenhalle) in Dortmund, Germany. It is surrounded by the Eissportzentrum Westfalenhallen, Stadion Rote Erde, We ...

Dortmund Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-largest city in Germany. With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city ...

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Andre Wyns , PTS , 6 , 15 April 1966 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Draw , , align=left, Raimo Nisula , PTS , 8 , 18 March 1966 , align=left, Masshallen,

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

, align=left, , - , Loss , , align=left, Joseph Juvillier , PTS , 8 , 2 December 1965 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Loss , , align=left, Wim Snoek , RTD , 6 , 16 October 1965 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Willem Bomber , PTS , 6 , 10 September 1965 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Loss , , align=left, Ray Patterson , PTS , 6 , 21 June 1965 , align=left,

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Valere Mahau , PTS , 4 , 9 April 1965 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Manfred Schlesinger , PTS , 6 , 27 March 1965 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Danilo Zoratti , KO , 3 , 30 January 1965 , align=left,

Stadthalle Bremen Stadthalle may refer to: *Stadthalle (Nuremberg U-Bahn), a Nuremberg U-Bahn metro station in Fürth, Germany Buildings Germany *Bremerhaven Stadthalle, an arena in Bremerhaven *Stadthalle (Königsberg), a concert hall in former Königsberg * Sta ...

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Friedrich Mayr , KO , 1 , 16 January 1965 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Manfred Ackers , PTS , 4 , 5 December 1964 , align=left, Sporthalle,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Klaus Krueger , PTS , 4 , 16 October 1964 , align=left, Sporthalle,

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blin, Jurgen 1943 births 2022 deaths People from Fehmarn European Boxing Union champions German male boxers Heavyweight boxers Deaths from kidney disease Martial artists from Schleswig-Holstein 20th-century German sportsmen